A Study on Recovery of Aluminum Oxide from Artificial Marble Waste by Pyrolysis

Compared with the natural marble, the artificial marble has the advantages of excellent appearance, high degree of finish, even color, fine pressure and wear resistance, bear erosion and weathering, etc. It can be widely used in kitchen countertops, bath vanity tops, table tops, furniture, reception desks, etc. However, large amounts of artificial marble waste such as scraps or dust have been generated from sawing and polishing processes in artificial marble industry. Waste from artificial marble industry is increasing according to demand magnification of luxurious interior material. Artificial marble wastes can be recycled as aluminum oxide used as raw materials in electronic materials, ceramics production, etc., and methyl methacrylate(MMA) which become a raw material of artificial marble by pulverization, pyrolysis and distillation processes. The characteristics of artificial marble wastes was analyzed by using TGA/DSC and element analysis. Crude aluminum oxide was obtained from artificial marble waste by pulverization and thermal decomposition under nitrogen atmosphere. In this work, Box-Behnken design was used to optimize the pyrolysis process. The characteristics of crude aluminum oxide was evaluated by chromaticity analysis, element analysis, and surface area.